By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (September 27, 2010) – Fifty laps! It’s a distance that the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series will traverse just once during the 2010 campaign.
And, that time has come, as the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars will take to the fabled ¼-mile Riverside International Speedway gumbo clay oval in West Memphis, AR, for the Second Annual Rock ‘N Roll 50 this Friday and Saturday night, with both nights filmed for later broadcast on VERUS and MavTV.
Two full nights of competition, including heat races, “B” Mains and an “A” Main both nights, will culminate with Saturday night’s $6,000-to-win Rock ‘N Roll 50 championship main event, with the winner taking away a customized Gibson Guitar trophy as well.
It couldn’t come at a better time for Lucas Oil ASCS National title contender Tim Crawley, who carries a two-race win streak into the weekend. From Benton, AR, the four-time series champion swept both nights of last year’s inaugural Rock ‘N Roll 50 at Riverside.
Crawley broke into Lucas Oil ASCS National victory lane for the first time this year at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on August 28 and then made it two wins in a row with this past Saturday night’s triumph at Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway.
Over the past three nights of competition, Crawley has climbed from seventh to fourth in the series $60,000 championship points chase, trailing only the battling lead trio of Jason Johnson, Brady Bacon and Shane Stewart.
While Crawley carries the hot hand into the weekend, Johnson, Bacon and Stewart have been hot all year with four National wins apiece.
A native of Eunice, LA, 2008 series champion Johnson carries a 62-point lead over the Oklahoma duo of Bacon and Stewart into the weekend double. Bacon, the 20-year-old out of Broken Arrow, is just eleven points ahead of reigning series champion Stewart of Bixby.
While Crawley swept last year’s Rock ‘N Roll 50, the three leading title contenders all found the going to be challenging at the historic “Ditch”. Johnson posted finishes of seventh and tenth, Stewart was eighth and ninth while Bacon was a DNF in both feature events.
Among those that Crawley has vaulted past in the points chase is 20-year-old Springfield, NE, ace Jack Dover, who seemingly had this past Saturday night’s feature at Lucas Oil Speedway in hand until an unfriendly nod from Lady Luck determined otherwise. Still ranked fifth in points, Dover will try to capture his first National win since topping last year’s Steve King Memorial at Jetmore.
Fresh off his 300th career ASCS National feature start on Saturday night, becoming just the fifth driver to reach such a mark, Zach Chappell enters the weekend ranked sixth with Rock ‘N Roll 50 promoter Tony Bruce, Jr., of Liberal, KS, and famed TBJ Promotions in seventh.
Norman, OK, veteran shoe Danny Wood enters the weekend ranked eighth, just two points ahead of leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Hirst of Loomis, CA.
Little Rock, AR, native Ricky Logan rounds out the current top ten in points, with the balance of those vying for a share of the $250,000 points fund including Ohio’s Darren Long, four-time series champion Gary Wright and Rookie of the Year contenders Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) and Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) along with Missouri’s Josh Fisher in the Van Dyke No. 5h machine.
As is typically the case at West Memphis, a strong contingent of local forces along with a heavy dose of invaders will put the Lucas Oil ASCS National forces to the test over both nights of competition.
Race fans can save $10 on weekend admission by purchasing a weekend pass in advance for just $30 at http://www.tbjpromotions.com/events/?i=1112.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Friday night, October 1 at 7:30 p.m. – Riverside International Speedway
Saturday night, October 2 at 7:30 p.m. – Riverside International Speedway
Track Information:
Riverside Speedway (West Memphis, AR) – 1/4-mile semi-banked gumbo clay oval located west of Memphis, TN, on I-55 to Exit 4 in Arkansas, then 0.3 miles south, then 0.2 miles east on Broadway, then south on Legion Road. Event information including advance ticket sales is available at www.tbjpromotions.com or by calling 541-778-8630.
Lucas Oil ASCS Riverside International Speedway History:
After taking to the ¼-mile gumbo clay oval on 24 occasions from 1995 to 2005, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series returned to West Memphis for the first time in nearly five years with Tim Crawley sweeping both nights of the Inaugural Rock ‘N Roll 50 last July.
Riverside International Speedway ASCS National winners include: Eddie Gallagher 6, Tim Crawley 3, Terry Gray 3, Gary Wright 3, A.G. Rains 2, Pete Braswell 1, Pete Butler 1, Kenny Coke 1, Chad Jones 1, Travis Rilat 1, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 1, Darren Stewart 1, Brooke Tatnell 1, Mike Ward 1.
Riverside International Speedway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-Race Winners: Terry Gray (7/8/95), Eddie Gallagher (7/20/96), Pete Braswell (9/14/96), Gary Wright (6/21/97), Brooke Tatnell (9/13/97), Mike Ward (6/20/98), Terry Gray (9/19/98), Chad Jones (6/19/99), Pete Butler (7/24/99), Terry Gray (9/18/99), Kenny Coke (6/24/00), Travis Rilat (7/15/00), Gary Wright (9/16/00), Eddie Gallagher (6/9/01), A.G. Rains (7/14/01), Tim Crawley (9/15/01), Eddie Gallagher (6/1/02), Eddie Gallagher (9/14/02), Eddie Gallagher (5/31/03), Gary Wright (7/19/03), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (7/17/04), Eddie Gallagher (9/11/04), Darren Stewart (6/4/05), A.G. Rains (9/10/05), Tim Crawley (7/3/09), Tim Crawley (7/4/09).
Current Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National Points:
Top Twenty: 1. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 2,406, 2. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 2,344, 3. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 2,333, 4. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 2,199, 5. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 2,143, 6. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 2,136, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 2,121, 8. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 1,991, 9. Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA) 1,989, 10. Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) 1,965, 11. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 1,879, 12. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 1,757, 13. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 1,752, 14. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) 1,635, 15. Justyn Cox (Clarksburg, CA) 1,513, 16. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,387, 17. Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA) 1,344, 18. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,152, 19. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 850, 20. Andrew Marshala (Shawnee, OK) 823.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points: 1. Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA) 1,989, 2. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 1,879, 3. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 1,757, 4. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) 1,635, 5. Justyn Cox (Clarksburg, CA) 1,513, 6. Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA) 1,344.
2010 Lucas Oil ASCS National Feature Winners:
Brady Bacon 4, Shane Stewart 4, Jason Johnson 4, Zach Chappell 2, Tim Crawley 2, Brian Brown 1, Matt Covington 1, Jerrod Hull 1, Sammy Swindell 1, Danny Wood 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
October 15 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)
October 16 – Devi’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)
October 28 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR)
October 29 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR)
October 30 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – $15,000 to win
November 12 – Southern New Mexico Speedway (Las Cruces, NM)
November 13 – Southern New Mexico Speedway (Las Cruces, NM)
November 18 – USA Raceway (Tucson, AZ)
November 19 – USA Raceway (Tucson, AZ)
November 20 – USA Raceway (Tucson, AZ) – $15,000 to win
November 26 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV)
November 27 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV) –
Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:
Those unable to catch all the action in person can listen to every Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters live at www.racinboys.com.
Also, the Lucas Oil ASCS Show airs on www.racinboys.com each Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET, recapping the previous week’s events while also previewing upcoming action.
Official results, championship point updates, photos and race notes will be available at www.ascsracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS on TV:
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters will be featured in ten one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network and MavTV.
Events to be aired on VERSUS and MavTV include the following:
Event Date – Track (Location) – VERSUS Air Date & Time (All Times Eastern & Subject to Change):
March 19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 6/6/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
March 20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – Rained Out
June 11 – Eagle Raceway (Eagle, NE) – 9/4/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
June 12 – Eagle Raceway (Eagle, NE) – 10/3/10 @ 5:00 p.m.
September 25 – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) – 11/21/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 1 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 11/28/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 2 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 12/5/10 @ 5:00 p.m.
October 28 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – 12/5/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 29 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – 12/11/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 30 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – 12/12/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 35 nights of racing action at 17 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country’s top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.
In its 19th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing, the American Sprint Car Series brings the best of Sprint Car racing to approximately 100 different tracks throughout 30 states and Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.